


AND PROMISES TO KEEP ?

by wellmet



Category: James Bond (Craig movies)
Genre: M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-04-16
Updated: 2018-04-15
Packaged: 2019-04-23 14:21:37
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 4
Words: 8,647
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14334348
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/wellmet/pseuds/wellmet
Summary: James Bond breaks a promise he made after losing Vesper





	1. Chapter 1

And PROMISES TO KEEP?

Meretseger 2017  
James Bond strolled into Q Branch looking pleased with himself - as usual. He looked around but the Quartermaster was nowhere in sight. Instead he went to stand next to Q's second, who liked to be called R. He was just back from an assignment in Iceland. Super-villain, Loki Smithsson,* defeated - he'd planned a volcanic explosion that would disrupt the European climate to such an extent that he and his backers could take over the continent (Bond had fought with him while dangling from a rescue helicopter and had had the satisfaction of seeing Smithsson being swallowed up by lava) - he had spent three days with Detective Katrin Grimsonsdotter and had been happy to find that the cold of Iceland's climate was matched by the warmth of it's peoples' welcome. He felt at ease with himself again, comfortable in his place and time. Now he was back at MI6 headquarters and all that was needed was to see Q and exchange some snarky comments. 

"007," R was a little older than most of the 'minions' and happily married so, although she enjoyed looking at Bond in his dark grey bespoke suit with a shirt that matched the icy blue of his eyes she was (or so she always claimed) immune to his charm. "Here to return your tech?" She knew there wouldn't be any tech to return but, like Q, she lived in hope. "Meet any komodo dragons while you were in Iceland?"

Bond smiled and sighed. "It's too cold for them there but there was an ice palace …" Was of course.

R sighed as if very put out since she knew as well as 007 did that he had found a volcanic vent and melted the hotel. "Just put the reason why you broke everything in your report, 007." She smiled falsely and left to get some work done; some of the younger Q Branch staff seemed to be as fascinated as mice when a snake looks in their direction whenever a double 0 was around. Especially if that double 0 was James Bond. 

Q wasn't anywhere Bond could see him so he headed for the labs - when he wasn't running an operation from the giant screens in the main area or writing computer code the boffin could be found creating more gadgets.

Bond found Q in one of the labs set up for micro-engineering. "Good morning Q," he said as he entered the lab - it didn't do to get too close before letting Q know you were around; making the man jump could result in a nasty surprise. Q might be young, skinny, wear clashing coloured clothes and dark rimmed glasses but he was trained in self-defence and kept a modified Tazer to hand. 004 still complained about the how shock from the Tazer had made his hair permanently frizzy!

 

*Couldn't resist this name - Loki, of course, is the Norse Trickster god and a volcano in Iceland is named after him. The Smithsson bit is from the Greek Hepheastus also a volcano god. I love the names Ian Fleming gave to the Bond villains (and to the Bond girls.)

When he got no answer Bond moved closer to the other man and it was then that he realised that Q wasn't bent over the bench working on tech but holding his head in his hands. Thinking that Q was tired and maybe half asleep Bond moved to stand close to   
him. "Why don't you go home and have some sleep?" He knew Q tended to over work. 

 

But when Q turned to look at him Bond stopped, shocked by the utter despair on the younger man's face. There was only one reason for the Quartermaster to look so upset … an agent of Her Majesty's Secret Service was dead and Q felt that it was his fault. Bond hadn't heard of any deaths- but that only proved that Q Branch Minions (as they seemed to like being called) didn't gossip. "Who?" he asked. 

"What?" Q asked, his thoughts had been far away and the question puzzled him. Then he realised what 007 was asking and he shook his head. "Nobody, 007. It's personal."

"Care to tell me?" Bond asked. He and Q got on well, despite - or perhaps because of - the sarcastic comments they tossed back and forth between them. It had never mattered to Bond that Q was an omega - as long as he kept on providing him with tech and information the man's secondary gender, or his first for that matter, was irrelevant. Bond knew that not everybody felt the same; omega rights had changed over the last fifty years but some people still lived in the past and believed that omega's should stick to the 3 K's - 'Kinder, Kuche, Kirche' translated roughly into English as 'barefoot and pregnant' *. When Q shook his head Bond said, "sometimes talking to a friend helps. Even if all they can do it listen." Not that he was an expert on relationships but if he was there and didn't help the Quartermaster then when all his fellow double 0s found out he'd done nothing he would face some hard questions - and fists! 

"Are we?" Q asked, his voice flat, without it's usual sharpness. "Friends I mean?"

"I'd like to thing so," Bond answered. He put a hand on the other man's shoulder, feeling the bones under his fingers. Q was always skinny but Bond noticed that the bones on his wrists and face seemed to be more pronounced than usual. Whatever was troubling Q was serious. "Why don't I take you home and we can talk."

Q sighed; he was tired and miserable and he could smell Bond's aftershave and his clean alpha scent. "Yes, okay," Q agreed. "I'll meet you in the car park in half an hour."

Bond nodded and left. Q went to tell R that he was taking the rest of the day off. R made notes on her ipad, relieved that her boss was finally taking some time off. He'd not been well for a week or so and she was worried. She owed Bond one for convincing the Quartermaster to go home. She'd forgive him for flirting for that good deed! 

*German for 'children, kitchen and church'. Hitler's view on the place of women in the 1,000 year Reich.

 

The silence between the two men was heavy as Bond drove to the address Q had given him. The house was in a row that had once been shops with living space above. Bond parked in the street and didn't offer to help his friend as the younger man almost stumbled as he got out of the Aston Martin, he knew that right now his offer of a steadying arm would be rebuffed. He bent down to get the carry bag from the back and followed Q to what had been the shop's front doorway. The large windows to either side of the door had wire set into the heavy glass and louvered shutters for privacy. The large space inside was empty, as if Q had no use for it.

A locked door led from the shop to the room that had once been a kitchen and which overlooked a brick-paved and walled yard with a large tree in one corner. Stairs led up to the next floor and Q plodded up them as if he was exhausted.

Used to assessing his situation in a glance Bond looked around the house as he followed his friend upstairs. At first glance the place looked too Spartan with its polished wooden floors and white walls. The windows all had wooden louvered shutters on the inside and there were no curtains to soften the harsh plainness but as he looked around 007 noticed the carpets and rugs in varied patterns and colours scattered around the rooms and the paintings of landscapes and flowers on the walls. It was an odd style but Bond decided he liked it. Trust Q to be different! 

Q waved in the general direction of the kitchen table. "Sit down, 007. I'll make some tea - coffee for you?"

 

"If you have it," Bond agreed. "Call me James." 

Q nodded his acceptance of the first name and as he turned on the kettle and the coffee maker offered something back. "Quintillion, if you want." He much preferred Q but if this was going to be a discussion between friends he supposed he should offer his name. 

When he was handed his mug of rather good coffee James took a sip, put down the mug and said, "alright, Q, tell me what's wrong." Somehow he couldn't think of his favourite boffin as anything but Q.

Q took a sip of his tea, already feeling a little better. James had been right about talking with a friend. There was nothing Bond could do but having somebody actually care was nice. His staff had looked concerned but he couldn't tell them what was wrong. James was used to keeping secrets and he knew he could trust him with this one. Not that it would matter in the long run but still …

"Eight days ago," he even knew the hour and minute, "my alpha parent called and told me to present myself at her house for dinner. When I got there she told me that she had decided that since my two alpha brothers did not want to give her heirs that I would have to. She ordered me to resign from MI6 and to return home. That she would arrange for alphas to come to me when I was in heat so I would have pups. The alphas would not bond with me so the pups would be hers." 

Bond was shocked at the bald statement. He put down his mug, noticing that, incredibly, his hand was shaking. He wasn't sure what to say but he finally found a question. "Can she do that?" knowing full well that she could.

Q managed a shrug. "I'm not bonded to an alpha of my own so she is still my alpha. Not all the changes in laws are going to change that." 

"But it's the alpha childrens' job to breed heirs not the omegas!" Bond stated. "Why aren't they doing their duty?" Maybe he could go around to the brothers and make them do their job. He'd refrain from convincing them with extreme prejudice only because dead they couldn't make pups! 

"My oldest brother thinks sex is too messy and the other one doesn't want pups getting in his way. Even though his partner is an omega and seems to like babies and children." He buried his face in his hands, despairing of the life he had built for himself. He had achieved all he had ever wanted and now it was going to be snatched away from him… all the could see was years of boredom and babies.

"Did you never want an alpha and pups?" Bond asked, not sure what to say but needing to, at least, keep the conversation going.

Q shook his head. "No, not really. I wanted to do what I'm doing now. I put up with people saying I should study the Arts or the Humanities- they were more suited to an omega, after all. I got a job working for the Treasury and when M came head-hunting I happily accepted her offer to work for the Secret Service." He couldn't stop the quiver in his voice, "I was happy, you know." A little humour managed to get through his misery and he looked up. "Despite double 0's feeding my tech to komodo dragons!"

"I'm never going to live that down, am I?" Bond asked with a smile that managed to be less smirk than usual. He slid a hand over to Q's side of the table, just touching his fingertips to Q's as they lay flat on the table. He had a suggestion to make. "005 would be willing to bond to you, she values you as much as any of the double 0s."

Q shook his head sadly. "I sure she would have but she bonded just last week." He managed a rather shaky smile. "His name's Roger Blake and he's an artist." He lifted a hand to point vaguely in the direction of a landscape on the wall by the table. "That's one of his. I introduced them just before she went on her last mission and she came back determined to claim him." Roger had already phoned him expressing his desire to bond to the tall, slender and beautiful Catherine Clarke and so Q had had no hesitation in nudging 005 into proposing. 

Bond nodded and then said, "009?" But a moment's thought had him shaking his head. Q would be no better off under Damien's control than he would be at home. The alpha's views on the place of omegas was well known. That left only one alpha. "Ah …" Bond began but a hand on his for barely a moment stopped him before he could start …

"No James," Q's voice shook. He would have been overjoyed to bond with James, who he had fancied from the first time he saw him sitting glaring at the Turner. "I know you are only attracted to women." Sexual orientation was just a further complication in the male/female alpha/omega mating complex. He was, given a choice, gay and Bond, it was obvious, was heterosexual. Pity but there was nothing to be done about it.

Bond took a slender hand in his, feeling the calluses on the finger tips from too much time spent using keyboards and fine-nosed pliers. "Only when it comes to betas." He shrugged. "Omegas, once bonded, are immune to my charms so I don't waste my time trying to seduce information out of them - betas, on the other hand, are much more … er, open to persuasion. As an alpha I'm flexible." He preferred female omegas - like Vesper - but put him in bed with a male omega in heat and he would bond if the omega was willing. And once bonded he would want to make love to his omega, even when he wasn't in heat. In a way he was lucky that his brain would take over his body and he and Q would be lovers despite his never having a male lover before - or wanting one.

"Are you sure James?" Q forced himself to ask. He knew about the omega Vesper Lynd. The offer of a bond over-rode his alpha parent's order; biology had its own imperatives.

James nodded. "Yes. You're needed in MI6, valued for who you are." He shook his head. "You would be wasted at home." A shrug. "And we're friends. I think we can manage somehow." He wanted to make it clear that what he was proposing was not a love match. He picked up the omega's too thin hands and kissed the knuckles, left and right and looked into Q's wary green eyes. "I will only ever give you one order. And that will be, 'you decide,' You have my promise."

Q felt something loosen in his belly. He would have liked to be mated to James Bond in a love match but he would take friendship and the man's word on his future. He turned their hands over and kissed James's knuckles, left and right. He looked up into icy blue eyes that no amount of global warming would ever melt. He knew enough about Vesper to know what he had to say. "Then I accept your offer, alpha. With thanks. I will never choose love over my duty to my Queen and my country. You have my promise."

Bond nodded. "Thank you." Like him Q valued duty above anything else - even love. 

Emotions thrummed between them for a long moment - and then Q yawned. And yawned again. Bond laughed. "I think you need to sleep, Q. Unless you want lunch first?"

Q shook his head. "I don't think I have the energy to chew right now." It had been a long week with little sleep. He managed to stand, staggering a little until a strong arm under his guided him towards the stairs. 

Bond managed to strip his omega down to his underwear and slip him under the blankets. The room was dim, the shutters closed and the Quartermaster was asleep as soon as his head hit the pillow. James brushed the unruly dark curls with his hand, leant down and kissed the pale skin of the younger man's face and left, cat footed.

007 was a very highly trained agent and he always liked to know the entrances and exits of where ever he was so he looked into every room, store room and even the dumb waiter. He stopped to look at the landscapes noticing that they were in all sorts of media from water colours to oils, and even a couple of embroideries. One had a grey tabby sitting on a window sill looking out on a pink sky, another tall, impossible, towers in glittering metal threads. The flower paintings were as varied and all were of flowers that, at first glance, looked ordinary and then seemed to twist into unearthly shapes and colours. He began to think that he might like living in this odd, mismatched but interesting house. His own flat was just a place to keep his clothes and his bottles of scotch. 

His tour completed Bond made coffee and settled down to eat the sandwich he had bought while waiting for Q to brief his staff. There was a magazine on the table and he picked it up to read the title, hoping for something vaguely interesting to pass the time. It was New Scientist, a title he'd seen in newsagents at airports around the world so he flipped it open to read about the end of the Cassini space craft's voyage.

When Q woke he lay for a moment, enjoying the feeling of satisfaction. He would be able to work for MI6 and that was the most important thing in his life. He smiled - wouldn't his brothers be annoyed when Mommy had to turn to one of them for heirs! He was hungry so he slipped out of bed and went to shower and then to find his alpha. 

James had found a comfortable chair in the living room and settled down to read the rest of the magazine. 

"Tea?" Q asked, having found his favourite spy looking relaxed and at ease without his suit coat or tie. "Coffee?"

"Tea," Bond answered putting the magazine aside. "I bought you some sandwiches and fruit salad. You make the tea and I'll get them out for you." He wasn't one of those alphas who thought it undercut their superiority to do domestic stuff. "When will your heat start?"

Q was unused to discussing such private things but he realised that with an alpha he'd have to learn to so he took a deep breath. "If I stop my suppressant in the morning it should start …" he counted on his fingers, "sometime late Thursday."

Bond nodded. "Three days. I'll move in on Wednesday and ask for my bonding leave to start then, I'm already on mandatory post-mission leave."

Q nodded. "Thank you. That suits me as well. I'll organise R to take over for the week." 

 

Q and Bond had spent the rest of the afternoon deciding on the details of their life together; James would move into Q's home because that was what it was. Q had been surprised, it was traditional for the omega to move into the alpha's home but as for as Bond he didn't give a damn what alphas were supposed to do; as far as he was concerned Q had a right to his own home and the right to keep it when they were bonded. He had met the cats, they'd eventually come inside to see who was visiting and he'd been introduced. Bond had somehow expected Q to own well-bred exotic cats but these two were just ordinary moggies - short haired tabbies from the RSPCA. Cattus was a grey tabby with white feet and tail tip and Meeow dark brown with fawn marking and a few spots of orange. Q had laughed and said, 'at least they aren't Woof and Squeek!'. Bond hadn't really understood the joke but hadn't asked it to be explained. **

Bond locked the door to his flat behind him and went straight to the kitchen. Light from the street came in through the un-curtained windows and anyway he could find his way around the rooms in a black-out. He was a double 0 in Her Majesty's Secret Service and he always knew exactly where every obstacle was. He took a glass and a bottle of scotch and went to stand in the bay window and look down at the street without really seeing it. He poured a generous amount of the drink into the glass and downed half of it in one go. 

Bond poured more scotch and drank deeply. He had had little choice but to propose bonding with Q. MI6, England!, needed the Quartermaster; the other double 0s needed him, not only for the equipment he supplied but for the information he could seem to pull out of any computer system in the world and the way he could use any surveillance camera he wanted to guide them in and out of the places they had to infiltrate; it would have been stupid to refuse to bond with the omega just because he had promised himself - after Vesper - that he would never take on a permanent partner. He had decided that it was not worth the risk, the heart-ache and trouble that a permanent relationship seemed to drag along with all the promises of future happiness. He had decided to take his pleasures where he could, to live and love for the moment. Quintillian's alpha parent had changed all that with her demands for heirs that Q's brothers should have been providing but would not. Now he and Q were committed to bonding and he had broken a promise made to the only person with whom he had to keep faith - himself. It had been a good decision but for the moment it felt like a betrayal. 

Bond lifted the bottle and checked the level of the scotch that was left and decided to get drunk, to forget the promise he had made, the self-betrayal. Tomorrow was another day. As he had done so often before he had broken his word for the good of his country. He could live with it - for Q. 

Quintilian undressed and slid into bed relaxing happily into the warmth. He was relaxed now, relieved of the worry that his life as he had chosen to live it was coming to and end. He and James had made lots of decisions - the best was that they would live here, in the home that he, Q, had made for himself. They would share a bed and their lives and he would be free to continue as Quartermaster of MI6. There would be no pups James had assured him and he would be as free as he had ever been, James had assured him of that, too. He knew James didn't love him and probably never would, but there would be respect, mutual respect, and that was enough. He would never have the chance to find an alpha he loved and wanted to live with, once bonded he would want only James, but he had never really wanted an alpha anyway. Bond would be away on missions as usual so he would be, in fact if not in law, as independent as he was now. James would go on as he had always done - there would be beta women to seduce for information but Q didn't feel betrayed by that possibility. And James had promised that if he wanted a woman when he was not working he would take her to her place and not bring her to Q's home. Q didn't like the idea of his alpha having lovers but he understood Bond's need to sometimes have a woman so he would ignore their smell on his mate. For his freedom to be who he wanted to be. 

Sighing, his stomach full of the wonderful food they had eaten at the expensive restaurant they had gone to for a celebratory dinner, Q relaxed. Before sleep claimed him he lifted a finger to his alpha parent. And then did it again to his alpha brothers. 

** I am told that cattus was actually the word the Ancient Romans used for dog/puppy and they used it for cats as Latin had no word for domestic type cats. Felix is for the big ones. Meeow is obvious.


	2. Chapter 2

CHAPTER 2

When James Bond arrived at Vauxhall Cross the next morning he expected to meet Q outside M's office but when he wasn't there Bond wasn't concerned - no doubt there was some crisis or request for information that the Quartermaster had stayed to sort out. James could understand Q's choice - indeed he agreed with it; for both of them the security of their country was their paramount duty and concern.

It was a warm summer's day and Miss Moneypenny was wearing a soft cotton dress in rose pink with a white scarf around here neck (dotted with little sets of handcuffs - a gift from her boyfriend in Special Branch) and a thin white belt emphasising her waist to hip ratio.

"You look delicious, Miss Moneypenny," Bond said as he leaned close enough to smell the musky-flower scent she was wearing. Promised to Q he might be but he had no intention of stopping his flirting with M's PA - they both enjoyed it too much.

"Not that you'll ever know, James," Eve returned, her dark eyes sparkling with pleasure at the compliment. She was, after all, a woman and 007 was a very handsome man and it was all in fun. "Are you here for any particular reason or just here to waste my time?" A smile softened the words.

"I would never waste your time, Miss Moneypenny," Bond objected with a hand on his heart. "Is M available?" 

Eve nodded. "Of course, 007." There were back in work mode now. "Go right in." She pressed the door release button and went back to her paperwork, wondering why Bond wanted to see the Head of MI6 - he was probably bored already and wanting to be sent out on a mission.

M looked up as 007 entered his office. He sighed and said, before Bond could speak. "You will have to wait, 007, there are currently no world crises waiting on your attentions."

"Not why I'm here, sir." Bond said quietly, waiting to be invited to sit down.

"Oh." M sat back in his leather chair, suddenly aware of a difference in his agent's manner. He wondered if Bond had found out about Q's problem. It would save him a lot of explaining if he had. He waved to a chair and waited for Bond to tell him what he wanted.

"I would like to apply for leave," Bond stated. "Bonding leave." In case there was any doubt he added. "With our Quartermaster."

"Ah," M sat up a little straighter. "You heard then?"

Bond nodded and then turned accusing, "how could you let him get into the state I found him in? Why didn't you do something instead of leaving him fretting for so long?"

His own alpha pride pricked M took a deep breath. "Because I hoped you would come back!" He took another breath and relaxed as much as was possible when he was faced with another - angry - alpha. "When he told Tanner and me I thought of 005 but she had just asked for bonding leave herself. And 009 would not have been any good, not with his attitude to omegas." He shook his head. "I would not have let him leave - I would have offered to bond with him myself." His omega had been dead for some time but he had no desire to take another - Susan had been the love of his life. 

Bond's anger faded, he knew very little about M's personal life but he knew the man had lost his omega and had never taken another. "Well, the problem's solved now."

M nodded. "Yes, and thank you for that, Bond." He leant over and pressed a button on his intercom. "When Q arrives can you send him in please Miss Moneypenny. And would you ask the Chief of Staff to come to my office straightaway." 

Q arrived before the silence could grow between the two powerful men at the same time as Tanner, who as usual looked harried and harassed. 

M stood up and offered his hand to Q - he was not one of those alphas who thought omegas were just pretty little things who stayed home, cooked and made pups. He had never treated his Susan that way and he had always felt that treating omegas as his inferiors lessened his love and respect for the woman he would always love. 

"Congratulations, Quintillion!" 

Q coloured a little but sat down when M waved at the chair next to James. "Thank you, sir." He looked over at his promised alpha. "I assume you realise that James and I …"

Seeing the young man's embarrassment M nodded. "I understand completely, Quintillion." This was no time for titles. "I leave it up to you and Bond to tell people what you think best." He turned to Tanner. "Chief Of Staff, Bond and Q have both asked for bonding leave."

"Congratulations," Tanner said. He was a beta and happily married and had been in no danger of having to step in to save the day but he was the man who would have to find new Quartermaster! They had been lucky, when Major Boothroyd died that Quintillion had been ready to step into the position. Though, officially, now he was Quartermaster Q's name was Boothroyd and he had even inherited the position's rank. He opened the lap top computer that he sometimes felt was permanently attached to him and started typing in the required information. Bonding leave was different from ordinary leave in that it could not be interrupted - even if two men who were old enough to know better started World War III on their twitter accounts! *

When Bond and Q were back in Eve's office Q hesitated. He was well aware that Miss Moneypenny had all the office gossip at the tips of her painted fingernails and he wanted to make sure that the truth was the only story going the rounds. He looked over at his future bond mate, "James?" asking him what to say since this involved the alpha as well as him.

James kept his face empty of any emotion. He preferred the truth to be the story everyone heard but he would be away on mission when he seduced his female informants and it was Q who would have to face the speculation. And he had promised. "You decide, Q," he said, reminding the omega of his promise.

Q nodded and turned to Eve. "I want you to be the first to know, Eve, that James and I plan to bond." When she opened her mouth to speak he held up a hand to stop her. "And I want you to know why." 

Eve, who had been worried about how sad Q had looked the last week or so nodded, ready to listen.

Q took a deep breath. "Eight days ago my alpha parent ordered me to leave my work here and go back ho…" no that wasn't the word. "To go back to her house and breed heirs. Since I had no alpha of my own I had no choice but to obey her orders." 

Eve was angry but she knew there was more so she looked to Bond but his face was carefully blank. She turned her attention back to Q but she planned to have a chat with 007 and any others of the double 0s later - cold might suit Klingons but she preferred her vengeance hot!

"When I told James why I was being forced to leave MI6 he offered to bond with me so I could stay. I agreed and we have talked and agreed." He took a deep breath. "If it is necessary he will still seduce his beta women for information."

"But only on missions," Bond clarified. Their agreement about his love-life off duty was something between himself and Q.

Miss Moneypenny nodded. "Thank you for telling me Q, James. If I am asked I will make sure everybody knows the real story."

Q nodded goodbye to Eve and he and James left her office. As they walked towards the lifts he asked, "I am going to tell Q Branch as well. I would like it if you would be there with me."

"Of course," Bond agreed easily. 

When the two men entered Q Branch Bond realised that Q had called all his staff together. The room was rather full as both shifts were there as well as the Armourer and his staff of engineers, technicians and mechanics. The Armoury was no longer just responsible for the weapons the agents used since Q had given the Armourer more authority over the 'hardware' section of his domain. The two divisions worked closely, of course, and it was not unusual for Bond - when he visited Q Branch - to see the IT staff and the Armoury staff standing around tables full of bits and pieces or working on weapon's testing. The computer geeks seemed to enjoy the bangs and flashes as much as the technicians. 

"I have some good news for you all," Q said when he had everybody's attention. "James Bond has asked me to bond with him and I have accepted." He waited for he buzz of comments to die down and went on. "Some of you will have noticed that over the past week or so I have not been well." Again he waited for the nods and comments to die down. "That was because my alpha parent had ordered me to leave my job here - which you all know I greatly enjoy - to stay at her house and breed heirs."

James saw the anger on the faces of the minions and a lot of them turned to him with expressions that seemed to imply that Q's alpha parent was going to have trouble with any device that had a computer in it in the very near future. He nodded slightly, agreeing with the sentiment. Between the minions and Moneypenny there was going to be trouble somewhere in suburbia. As soon as somebody could find out what the Quartermaster's family name was. 

Bond stepped forward. "As Q's friend I could not stand by and see him unhappy at losing the job he loved. He is too valuable to MI6 - and to all the agents, especially the double 0s for him to be lost to us."

There was a murmur of agreement and congratulations. "Take a ten minute break." Q announced. He turned to Bond. "That went down well." 

Bond nodded. "Your staff like you." He put a hand on Q's shoulder, the first time a sign of affection had passed between them. "I have things to do. I'll see you tomorrow at your place."

Q was a little disappointed that he and James wouldn't be sharing dinner again but he nodded and lifted his right hand to Bond's arm, tightening his fingers a little. "See you then." He smiled and left go about his day's work. 

While he was packing Bond wondered if he should buy Q a bonding ring. Alphas and omegas had copied the idea of such a ring from betas who swapped gold rings when they married but he decided that it was not the right time. Maybe, some time in the future, when their relationship had grown deeper he would give Q ring to show how much he was valued. For now, no, their relationship too new, too based on solving a problem.

*This was written when President Trump and North Korea's 'Beloved Leader' were acting like alpha males arguing over who had the biggest … rockets.


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter 3

Q decided to take a company car home after finishing work early Wednesday evening. He was feeling a little hot and sweaty - his heat seemed to be coming earlier than he had estimated - and he didn't fancy taking the tube and putting up with alphas sniffing at him. When he got out of the car he was disappointed to see that James' Aston Martin wasn't parked out the front of his home but when he entered the front room he saw a pile of flattened cartons and relaxed a little. When he entered the back room of the building he went to look out of the window and smiled when he saw the car carefully parked in the corner of the backyard furthest from the tree. James was obviously making sure his pride and joy was safe while he was unable to defend her honour. 

The sight of the second set of keys on the rack by the stairs and Bond's smart black overcoat and pea coat next to his parka on the coat rack squashed any remaining butterflies in Q's stomach. Until he remembered why James had moved into his home - and the fluttery feeling returned, strong enough to start a hurricane anywhere in the world! 

As he climbed the stairs Q smelt something wonderful and he was surprised when he entered the kitchen to see James, dressed in casual slacks and a t-shirt that showed off his muscles stirring a large saucepan. Drawn by the aroma he moved closer to the stove.

James was a double 0 agent and he knew when Q entered the room and he half-turned so he could see him clearly. Instinct and training were too strong, even here at his now-home. "Evening," he said with a smile.

Q nodded and leant over the saucepan, sniffing deeply. "Chicken soup." And not the kind that came out of a tin. 

"Thought you might be hungry but not want anything to heavy." Bond had little experience with omegas going into heat but it was a reasonable assumption. 

Q nodded. "I didn't know you could cook." If this was a sample of James' cooking he was looking forward to more of it! 

"I have been known to dabble," James said. **

"I'm just going to change," Q said as he left the room. Seeing James's cut throat razors and toiletries next to his in the bathroom sent a shiver up his spine and the sight of bespoke suits hanging in the built-in wardrobe finally convinced him that this was really going to happen. He changed into jeans and a t-shirt and took his courier bag into the spare room. 

The soup was thick with vegetables and slivers of chicken meat and Q took his time enjoying the taste. He made to sure to complement the chef in the hope of more home cooking. 

Q cleaned up the kitchen, shooing his mate into the living room while he made tea and coffee. After hesitating only a moment he got out the 80's style cups and saucers he had been given when he left the Treasury. He had never used them and he decided that James's first night in their shared home was worth the celebrating. He had a box of thin almond biscuits he had bought and never opened and he put a plateful on the tray with the crockery. 

Bond settled in on the settee and turned on the television. He found a documentary about a group of engineers who were making a Difference Engine from Babbage's original design. It looked interesting and when Q came in with the tea and coffee he was pleased when the younger man sat down close to him, if not actually touching. The omega smelt like freshly mown grass and the scent mingled nicely with the smell of coffee. He poured himself a cup and settled down for a domestic evening.

Q sat as close to James as he could without actually sitting next to him and settled in o watch one group of engineers try to build a primitive computer using brass cut to Victorian tolerances while another used modern computer driven cutting machines and a third used a 3D printer. He had seen a small section of Babbage's design assembled by previous group of engineers in the Science Museum and had been fascinated by the stacks of metal cogs and rods that was so different from modern computers - even the early models that used valves rather than solid state components. 

 

"Can I …" Q asked shyly, not sure if James was ready for cuddling but he wanted to sit close to his alpha so he had taken a deep breath and dared to ask.

James had been expecting the request and had wondered what his response would be but he found he liked the idea of being close to his omega who was on the cusp of a heat so he nodded and lifted his arm for Q to slide closer and rest his head on James's shoulder. He lowered his arm, meaning to rest it on the slim shoulder of his future bond mate but it slipped instead to Q's waist and he left in there, quite content. He bent his head to bury his nose in Q's hair. "You smell nice."

Flattered Q turned his head a little so he could scent James. "You smell like the sea," he said. He liked the scent, it was clean and strong like his James. He took another breath and decided that he really liked the idea that James was his. 

 

 

** Roger Moore cooked a quiche for one of his Bond girls. When asked he said, "I have been known to dabble."


	4. Chapter 4

CHAPTER 4

Q woke and lay staring up at the ceiling. He felt relaxed and just a little smug. He was bonded now and could go back to doing the job he loved with people who valued him for himself and his work; who didn't care if he was an omega. His bondmate - and the handsomest spy in England - was lying next time him, blond hair spiky, a strong arm over his body, his head heavy on Q's shoulder.

"Stop being so smug." The words were muttered against Q's chest. 

"How do you know I'm feeling smug?" Q asked running a hand down James' back - just because he could and it felt good. They'd spent the last three days having practically non-stop sex and he felt relaxed and happy. His heat had ended last night and they'd staggered to the shower, changed the bed linen and fallen back into bed and slept. It was just light outside - a new day was starting. 

James didn't bother moving from where he lay - he was too comfortable and sexually sated to bother unwrapping his arm from around his mate's skinny body and Q's shoulder was just the right size and shape to fit his head but he did lift his head a little so he could speak clearly. "Because you should." He lowered his head. "Go back to sleep, I'm tired." He didn't want his omega to move just yet; James Bond, lover of too many women, was finding out how good a bondmate felt.

When Bond woke some hours later the day was definitely well on its way; he needed to empty his bladder and fill his stomach so he reluctantly separated himself from Q and went to deal with the most important of his needs, when he returned from the bathroom his bondmate was lying in bed, glasses on and smiling. James found his dressing gown and bent down to kiss lips that tasted of Q. "Tea?"

"Mmmm," Q threw back the sheets and stood up, not the least bit worried by his nudity. "I'm going to …" he waved vaguely in the direction of the bathroom and Bond chuckled; he knew Q was no good before his first mug of Earl Grey.

In the kitchen Bond turned on the coffee maker and the kettle. He found the biggest mug in the cupboard and set out milk, sugar and tea bags - Q would need more than one mug to start the morning. The smell of brewing coffee made him draw in the scent; while Q was in heat they'd drunk lots of water and fruit juice but now he needed caffeine.

James had done some shopping - anticipating the need for a good fry up when Q's heat ended - and he took the ingredients for a full English breakfast out of the fridge, put the largest frying pan Q had on the stove and started cooking. His inner alpha approved of feeding up his bonded omega and Bond hummed under his breath as he moved around the kitchen. 

Q dressed in jeans and warm jumper, added stripped socks and went to find his first Earl Grey. The smell of bacon and eggs, fresh coffee and, more subtly, tea made him even more hungry and he headed for the mug of just-made tea and took it to the table so he could watch his - HIS James cooking. By the time he finished the tea he was awake enough to recognise the tune his alpha was humming and he smiled as he went to turn the kettle on again for more tea. He doubted James realised he was humming and that particular tune especially. 'Rule Britannia' was doubly appropriate for Commander Bond RN and the situation. He stopped by the stove to kiss a stubbly jaw and sat down again. 

Bond wondered why Q was smiling at him but since he was aware that he was smiling back it didn't bother him. He put down the full plates and took his own seat. "If you want more toast let me know."

Q waved his knife in acknowledgement of the offer, his mouth too full to speak. The rest of the meal was silent, both men concentrating on eating and drinking. When they were finally satisfied Q filled the dishwasher and left the machine to do the washing up. He worked on the sensible principal that no Human should have to do a job a machine could do. He went to his desk and found the last few sheets of good writing paper he had bought years ago, a pad of lined paper and a ball point pen that still had some ink in it and sat back down at the table to write a letter he was going to very much enjoy writing.

While Q tidied up James went to shave and when he came back to see the other man scribbling on the pad. "Shopping list Q?" he had assumed his HIS - the thought sent a shiver up his spine at the thought - Quartermaster would have done all his shopping on line.

"I," Q announced with an evil grin, "am writing to my alpha parent to tell her that I am bonded." He was also taking great pleasure in deciding what to say in the texts he was planning to send his brothers. The news would shake up their worlds and he wished he could be there to see their reactions.

Bond smirked, knowing how much Q had dreaded leaving MI6. "Make sure to spell my name right," he said. "When you've finished how about a walk to the post office and around a park since it's nice out." 

Q looked up from his writing. "Can I have an ice cream?" Their relationship might be based on practicality but he rather thought he would enjoy the envious looks of less lucky omegas. 

"Quartermaster, you may have anything you want." Bond stated fondly. He was looking forward to showing off his omega. 

On their way back to the house they passed a jeweller and Q stopped to watch the Gordon Bradt skeleton clock in the centre of the front window its mechanism was set up so it looked like three skeletal figures were winding the hands.

James stopped when his companion did, thinking he was looking at rings he said, "did you want a ring - if you want one I can …?"

Q who had decided that if James bought him a ring he would wear it on a chair around his neck; he knew how all the old, reactionary men on the committees he had to face when MI6 needed more funds or before the budget came out thought he should be at home having cubs instead of looking them in the eye and stating exactly why he needed so many computers and people to use them. He liked the way his unknown status tended to put the off their stride when it came to dealing with him; wearing a ring would give them an image of him to fix on and he would lose that advantage. He was glad that James had not bought him a ring yet, too; maybe when their relationship deepened he would want one but not right now - it was too soon. So he shook his head. "No. Maybe later. I stopped to look at the Bradt clock."

Relieved, Bond focussed on the clock and chuckled at the little skeletons working the cogs busily. They watched a little longer and then turned away and finished their walk home. 

They had just got to the kitchen when Q's mobile 'phone pinged to tell him he had an incoming message. He looked at the sender's name and frowned but opened the message anyway. 

Bond felt the strange emotion coming from Q and turned to see what was wrong. Before he could ask his bondmate held up the 'phone and said, as calmly as he could. "I just had a text from my elder brother - he's going to be a father."

James stared at his mate's face and couldn't stop himself from laughing at the situation. Fate was such a bitch! The shocked look on the other man's face sobered him and stepped closer to re-assure him. "I wasn't laughing at you. It's just the situation is so ridiculous …" all that angst and breaking of promises; then he saw the stricken look on his Quartermaster's face and took his hand. "Q??

Q looked down at their linked hands and felt so very guilty about trapping James into bonding when, it seemed, there had been no need. "I'm sorry, really I am. If we'd waited …"

But Bond had had time to think and he shook his head. "No, Q. Your alpha parent might not be satisfied or decide that she wants more grandchildren." He tightened his hands. "You are more than just a baby making machine. Now that we've bonded you are free to do what you enjoy doing, for people who really appreciate your work, who like you." He leant down and kissed Q's cheek. "And I do not - I repeat do not - regret bonding myself to you. MI6, England and all the double 0s need you."

Q studied his bondmate's face for a moment then nodded, his decision made. With a smile he freed his right hand and pressed the 'delete' button on his mobile. Then he looked up at James.

Bond recognised the smile on Q's face, it was the one he felt on his own face when he finished a mission to his own satisfaction. He tipped his head to one side, waiting …

Q dropped the phone into a trousers pocket and said, "MI6 prefers to employ orphans."


End file.
